L.A. PARKER: Cops should be fighting crooks, not each other

An interesting opinion regarding lawyers is that they are great when we need them but scoundrels if they end up defending some other guy.

Attorneys revel in the premise that there’s no such thing as bad press.

Every person is entitled to quality legal representation which is why Trenton police officer Richard Takach sought out Stuart Alterman. Takach is the 12-year veteran who in July became infamous after being photographed while on duty asleep in his cop cruiser.

This past Monday, Takach lost his service weapon allegedly after placing it on the rear bumper or trunk of his vehicle before driving off toward his Marlton home.

Police fear Takach’s fully-loaded Glock M23 semiautomatic weapon could end up in the hands of a criminal or juvenile.

“We don’t want anyone to be injured or worse by the department’s property,” said PBA President George Dzurkoc.

Worse would mean dead but Takach’s gun could figure in a myriad situations if one allows their mind freedom to rummage through disaster scenarios.

The Trenton Policeman’s Benevolent Association Local 11 has offered $1,000 for the return of Takach’s gun.

Alterman produced a certain amount of Glock-and-spin with his assessment of Takach’s behavior.

“It’s not a sign of him being careless, it was an accident, nobody intentionally loses a weapon,” Takach attorney Stuart Alterman said to NBC 10.

We know Takach did not intentionally lose his Glock but except for his life and soul, that weapon represents his most important police accessory.

Alterman strikes out with his “careless” summary. If doctors stitch up patients with scalpels lying inside their underbellies, or moms drive off from supermarkets with babies left in shopping carts, or if you leave the iron on which ignites a fire that burns down your block, those acts inherit criticisms of carelessness.

Now, I know that Alterman used semantics to attempt to quell the public comments about Takach but police officers must always know the location of their guns, especially fully-loaded weapons with 14 rounds of hollow-point bullets.

While many gave Takach a pass for sleeping in his car because he had been working long hours to support his family, such a freebie must be held back this time.

What most people fail to understand is that Takach should be the poster policeman for a force that wreaks of infighting. While police officers have every right to complain that their group’s performance has been undermined by a layoff of more than 100 officers, none can deny that their own dysfunction contributes to the deterioration of Trenton.

Instead of fighting criminals, some of Trenton’s finest engage in a civil war.

Here’s what happened with the Takach lost gun. First, Takach and several officers assisted by K-9 members, attempted to locate the weapon near the West Precinct substation at 660 Artisan Ave.

It’s 4 a.m. and the search turns up nothing. Not even a sniff of gun powder which may have left a scent for police canine.

Think about this. A police officer loses his gun in a city saturated with shootings, robberies, and violent crime and nobody says a word until about 12 hours later.

Check out how The Trentonian discovered the story about Takach’s lost weapon.

“A written report was left at The Trentonian detailing how Officer Richard Takach lost his service weapon,” Trentonian reporter Brian Dzenis wrote.

Takach apparently is considered on the “other team” of police officers, ones who don’t like Police Director Ralph Rivera, Jr. nor his plan for policing Trenton.

So, this lost gun incident allowed members of the “pro-Rivera force” to distribute information about their opponents. Great stuff. The men and women assigned to protect the public from criminals are engaged in equivalent retaliation of disclosure about inside information.

Granted, a lost gun is not information to be played with. Police officials should have alerted residents as soon as Takach’s gun turned up missing.

Years ago, rivals of Capt. Paul Messina photographed him asleep inside headquarters, an incident that gained him “Captain Sleepy” recognition.

Serious differences exist between a cop asleep inside police headquarters and one snoozed out in his vehicle on a city street.

However, Messina played on the “other” police team which meant his fellow officers unleashed a torrent of criticism.

If you want a real conspiracy theory about Takach’s gun consider this: Several police officers believe a police officer found Takach’s gun but want him to sweat this one out.

“It’s an inside job,” one officer said.

Still, another officer said that “Since they always leak information about us, then we’re going to start doing the same thing about them.”

With all this internal police discourse, no wonder Trenton loses its battle against crime.

For Trenton to move forward, we need a professional law enforcement orgnaization that puts personal differences aside for the well being of police and the safety of residents.

— L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Reach him at laparker@Trentonian.com.